Device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright

ABSTRACT

A device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright comprises two shoe stretchers, which stretch the soles of the shoes from the outside and are provided with means for detachably connecting the shoe stretchers and two spaced apart supporting members for holding the pair of shoes upright.

0 United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,737,933 Wonder June 12, 1973 [54] DEVICE FOR STRETCHING AND 2,851,709 9/1958 Stimler .6 12/1205 CARRYING A PAIR F SHOES AND FOR 2,883,688 4 1959 Barreca 12 1205 HOLDING THEM UPRIGHT [76] Inventor: Hemrsch zvungfnnlllothschwaige Primary Examiner patrick D. Lawson near ac er any Attorneylmirie & Smiley [22] Filed: July 23, 1971 [2]] Appl. No.: 165,468

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT July 29, 1970 Germany P 20 37 538.6 I

A device for stretchmg and carrying a pair of shoes and [52] US. Cl. 12/1205 for holding them upright comprises two Shoe Stretch" 51 1111. C1 A43d 5/00 firs, which Stretch the Soles of th@ Shoes from the [58] Field of Search....[. 12/1205 Side and are Provided with means for detachably necting the shoe stretchers and two spaced apart sup- [56] References Cited porting members for hoiding the pair of shoes upright.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,259,284 7/1966 Olson 12/1205 6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures t i h y i E l 3 T111 1 3 .1 11 r 12' f ['1 H F1 1 1 I l 11 --l i H6 4 1 a i i l 1' PATENTED 1 Z SHEET 1 BF 4 F/GJ ATTORNEY$ PATENIEU arm 1 2 I975 SHEET 2 [IF 4 INVENTOR WU N D E R HEINRICH ATTORNEYS PATENIEUJUHI 21973 3, 933

sum 3 0r 4 INVENTOR HEiNRicH wuuosn BY y j, "g F- PATENTEU JUN] 2197a SHEET U UF 4 INVENTOR HEiNRicH wuuoek ATTORNEYS DEVICE FOR STRETCIIING AND CARRYING A PAIR OF SHOES AND FOR HOLDING THEM UPRIGIIT SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright comprises two shoe stretchers, which stretch the soles of the shoes from the outside and are detachable connected.

This invention relates to a device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright. The device comprises two interconnected shoe stretchers, which stretch the soles of the shoes from the outside, and means which are attached to the shoe stretchers and serve to hold the pair of shoes upright.

Such devices are used mainly with skiing boots and serve to stretch the shoes, to facilitate the transportation of the shoes, and to enable the holding of the shoes in an upright position, e.g., for drying. In a known device of that kind, the two shoe stretchers consist essentially of section bars which are applied to the soles of the shoes and at their ends are provided with gripping means which engage the shoes. The two shoe stretchers are rigidly interconnected in the middle by a transverse plate and at their lower end by a baseplate. The transverse plate and the baseplate are interconnected by a stiffening web. In this way, the shoe stretchers, transverse plate, baseplate and stiffening web form a rigid compound structure, in which the two shoes are disposed on edge in a juxtaposed arrangement when the baseplate rests on a support, e.g., on the floor. With that design, the known device is relatively bulky as such and with the shoes gripped therein.'This is particularly undesirable if the device and the shoes gripped therein are to be accommodated in a means for transportation, such as a vehicle, in which only a small baggage space is available.

Another known device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright comprises a carrying frame which is molded from plastics material and has the shape of an inverted T. The means for stretching the shoes consist of a wide rubber strip, which is slung around a transverse rod that is secured to the bottom of the carrying frame and is provided at its free ends with U-shaped members to be fixed to the shoes. When the shoes are held in this device, the soles of the shoes engage the vertical web of the carrying frame and face each other. That device has also the disadvantage of being relatively bulky and can be accommodated only with difficulty together with the shoes gripped therein. That device has further the advantage that a great effort is required to grip the shoes therein because for this purpose the rubber strip must be extended by hand whereas said strip must be fairly strong for gripping the shoes. For this reason, the device cannot be operated by children or women or cannot be operated at all.

A shoe stretcher has been disclosed which comprises for each shoe a separate baseplate provided with retaining and gripping means for engaging the toe and heel portions of the shoe. The baseplates are connected along a longitudinal edge by an inseparable hinge and provided with detachable connecting elements along the other longitudinal edge so that the shoes can be placed upright one beside the other or with the soles facing each other. That stretcher has also failed to solve the present problem because the shoes remain interconnected in any position so that they can be accommodated only with difficulty.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device which serves to stretch and carry a pair of shoes and to hold them upright and which requires only a small space and enables a convenient gripping of the shoes and a convenient accommodation of the shoes in a stretched condition. To accomplish this object, it is a feature of the invention that the two shoe stretchers are interconnected by detachable connecting means. It is a further feature ofthe invention that the means for holding the pair of shoes upright comprises two separate supporting members, which are connected to respective shoe stretchers.

Hence, the device according to the invention consists of two detachable parts. This has the advantage that each shoe can be gripped independently of the other so that the gripping is much facilitated. The two gripped shoes may then be separately accommodated, transported or stored so that the space which is available can be utilized much better than with the known devices. When the shoes are to be carried by hand or to be held upright, the two shoe stretchers are interconnected by the detachable connecting means. Finally, the device according to the invention as such, without shoes, requires much less space than the known devices because the two shoe stretchers can be separated from each other and can be collapsed to a small size.

According to a further feature of the invention, the two shoe stretchers are provided with U-shaped members, which are engageable with one end of the shoe, and these U-shaped members consist of stand members forming the two supporting members. The U-shaped members are generally hinged to the shoe stretcher and are hooked into a recess formed in the shoe between its sole and upper, or into a special recess formed in the shoe for this purpose. The U-shaped members serve to secure the shoe stretcher to the shoe and to hold the shoes upright. This obviously results in a great simplification in structure compared to the known devices.

Owing to that design, the device according to the invention can be used in a particularly simple manner in conjunction with shoe stretchers of a specific, known type. These known shoe stretchers serve each to grip a single shoe and cannot hold the shoes upright and consist each of two telescoped, channel-like longitudinal bars, which can be adjusted to fit the shoe, a U-shaped member pivoted to one free end of the bars and adapted to be fixed to the shoe, a tightening lever pivoted to the other free end of said bars, and another U- shaped member pivoted to the tightening lever and adapted to be fixed to the shoe. Known shoe stretchers of that kind can be converted by relatively simple structural alterations into a device according to the invention for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright. This is preferably accomplished in that the U-shaped members pivoted to the tightening levers are replaced by U-shaped stand members connected to the respective end of the shoe stretcher, and the detachable connecting means are secured to the other end of the shoe stretcher.

The detachable connecting means consist preferably of a plug-in connecting means of plastics material, particularly of dovetail connecting means or T-section plug-in connecting means, which plug-in connecting means are adapted to be locked by suitable locking means. It will be understood that other detachable con necting means may be used with success.

A carrying loop is preferably provided to facilitate the carrying of the shoes which are gripped in the device. The carrying loop is secured to one or both of the shoe stretchers and in the latter case consists of at least two detachable connected parts, which are secured to respective shoe stretchers.

Further desirable features of the invention will be recited in the sub-claims.

Some embodiments of the invention will be described more fully and by way of example with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation showing a device according to the invention and skiing boots gripped thereby.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation showing a U-shaped stand member used in the deviceof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing the detachable connecting means of FIG. 1, without skiing boots.

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectionalv view taken on line III- III in FIG. 1 and shows one embodiment of the locking means also without skiing boots.

FIG. 5 is an elevation which is similar to FIG. 3 and shows a different embodiment of the locking means.

FIG. 6 is also an elevation which is similar to FIG. 3 and shows a further embodiment of the locking means.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows VIIVII in FIG. 8 and shows another embodiment of the detachable connecting means in a locked condition.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view showing the connecting means of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an elevation which is similar to FIG. 7 and shows the detachable connecting means in an unlocked condition.

The device shown in FIG. 1 and serving to stretch and carry a pair ofshoes and to hold them upright comprises two shoe stretchers l, 2, which grip respective skiing boots 3. Each shoe stretcher 1 or 2 comprises two longitudinal channel bars 4, 5, which engage the sole of the shoe and are longitudinally slidable one in the other and can be adjusted to fit the shoe by an adjusting mechanism, not shown. A U-shaped member 6 is pivoted to the upper end of each longitudinal bar 4 and is hooked into the recess formed in the boot between its sole and upper. A tightening lever 7 is pivoted to the lower end of each longitudinal bar 5, and a U- shaped member 8 is pivoted to the tightening lever and serves as a stand member.

The U-shaped stand member 8 is shown in more detail in FIG. 2 and comprises a central portion 9, which engages a recess formed for this purpose in the skiing boot. Two-portions 10 are disposed on opposite sides of the portion 9 and protrude downwardly beyond the portion 9 and serve to support the device. Hence, the

device gripping the skiing boots can be carried on a support at four points.

Detachable connecting means 11 are provided at the top end of the two longitudinal bars 4 and serve to interconnect the two shoe stretchers l, 2. The detachable connecting means 11 consist preferably of plastics material and comprise a female member 12, which is secured to the bar 4 of the shoe stretcher l, and a male member 13, which is secured to the bar 4 of the shoe stretcher 2. Asis apparent from FIG. 3, the female member 12 is provided with a T-shaped groove 14,

which is closed at its lower end. A projection provided on the male member 13 is complementary to the groove 14 in cross-section and is received by the latter.

The detachable connecting means 11 can be automatically locked by locking means 16, which are shown in FIG. 4. The locking means 16 consist ofa detent ball 17, which is movably mounted in a sleeve 18, which is arranged in the female member 12. The ball 17 isbiased by a spring into a recess 20 formed in the projec tion 15. As is also apparent from FIG. 4, the female member 12 and the male member 13 are held in the longitudinal bars 4 by the end portions 21 of the U- shaped members 6, which by these end portions are pivoted in the longitudinal bars 4.

A carrying loop 22 is mounted at the upper end of the device shown in FIG. 1. The carrying loop 22 consists of two detachably interconnected parts 23, 24, one of which is secured to the longitudinal bar 4 of the shoe stretcher 1 and the other to the longitudinal bar 4 of the shoe stretcher 2 by means which are not shown.

The operation of the device according to the invention is extremely simple. The two shoe stretchers 1, 2 are first adjusted to fit the shoes. For this purpose, the two longitudinal bars 4, 5 are longitudinally displaced relative to each other and are locked at a correspondingly marked portion, not-shown. The two shoes 3 can now be gripped independently of each other in the respective show stretchers 1 and 2. For this purpose, the U-shaped member 6 is hooked in at the toe portion of the shoe, the U-shaped stand member 8 is hooked in at the heel of the shoe, and the tightening lever 7 is swung upwardly. Because the shoe stretchers have been adjusted before and a transmission ratio is provided by the lever, a relatively small effort is sufficient to grip the shoes.

The shoes which have thus been gripped can now be transported independently of each other or can be stored independently of each other, e.g., during the summer. When the shoes are to be carried by hand or to be placed on the floor for drying, the two shoe stretchers 1, 2 in which the shoes 3 are gripped, are connected by the detachable connecting means 11. For this purpose, the projection 15 of the male member 13 is pushed or slid into the groove 14 of the female member 12 and the connecting means 11 are then automatically locked by the locking means 16. Whereas the female member 12 and the male member 13 are shown to be vertically displaceable, it will be understood that the female and male members may be arranged to be horizontally displaceable so that the two shoe stretchers 1, 2 must be laterally displaced to disassemble or assemble the device. As the shoes are gripped, the U- shaped stand members 8 automatically assume the position shown in FIG. 1, and when the shoes 3 have been gripped in the device the stand members may be used to support the device on the floor or on another support surface. The device gripping the shoes can also be conveniently carried by one hand with the aid of the carrying loop 22.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show further embodiments of locking means, which may be used in conjunction with plug-in connecting means of the kind shown in FIG. 3. The

locking means 25 shown. in FIG. 5 consist of a small plate 26, which can be swung out laterally, in the direction of arrows a, about a pivot 27. The locking means 28 shown in FIG. 6 consist of a channel-section cover 29, which is pivoted to the end portions 21 of the U- shaped member 6 and pivotally movable in the direction of arrows b. The two flanges of the channel-section cover have an inherent inward bias'so that the cover 29 is held in locking position by the clamping action between its flanges and the connecting members 12, 13. The clamping action may be exerted by those portions of the flanges which are pivoted to the U-shaped member 6 or by the free forward portions of the flanges or by the flanges as a whole.

FIGS. 7 to 9 show a different embodiment of detachable connecting means. The connecting means 30 comprise two spaced apart arms 31, which are secured, e.g., by welding, to the upper end of the shoe stretcher 1, and two arms 32, which are also spaced apart and secured to the upper end of the shoe stretcher 2. The two arms 31 are provided with an eyelet member 33 in the form of a transverse pin, which is hooked into a recess formed in the arms 32. The recess 34 has such a configuration that the eyelet member 33 must be horizontally displaced first before it can be removed upwardly from the recess 34. The arm 32 forming a hook has a nose 35, which is closely spaced from a stop 36 formed on the arm 31 when the two longitudinal bars 4 are parallel to each other (FIG. 7) so that the stop 36 and the nose 35 prevent a movement of the eyelet member 33 out of the recess 34 when the two longitudinal bars 4 assume the position shown in FIG. 7. When the two longitudinal bars 4 and with them the two arms 31, 32 are pivotally moved relative to each other (FIG. 9), the

nose 35 will become sufficiently spaced from the stop 36 to permit of a movement of the eyelet member out of the recess 34 so that the connecting means 30 can be separated. Hence, the detachable connecting means 30 are automatically locked in the normal position of the device, when the two shoe stretchers 1, 2 are parallel to each other.

I claim:

1. A device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright, comprising two shoe stretchers for stretching the soles of the shoes from the outside, means for detachably connecting said shoe stretchers, said shoe stretchers being arranged to hold the shoes with mutually facing soles when the connection is assembled, said shoe stretchers being adapted to hold the pair of shoes upright when the shoe stretchers are connected, said means for holding said pair of shoes uprightcomprising two spaced apart supporting members, one of said supporting members being mounted on one of said shoe stretchers, the other of said supporting members being secured to the other of said shoe stretchers, said two shoe stretchers being provided with U-shaped members which engage one end of the shoe and consist of U-shaped stand members forming the two supporting members, and each of said U- shaped stand members being pivoted to a tightening lever, which is pivoted to a longitudinal bar that engages the sole of the shoe.

2. A device, for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright, comprising two shoe stretchers for stretching the soles of the shoes from the outside, means for detachably connecting said shoe stretchers, said shoe stretchers being arranged to hold the shoes with mutually facing soles when the connection isassembled, said shoe stretchers being adapted to hold the pair of shoes upright when the shoe stretchers are connected, said means for holding said pair of shoes upright comprising two spaced apart supporting members, one of said supporting members being mounted on one of said shoe stretchers, the other of said supporting members being secured to the other of said shoe stretchers, each of said two shoe stretchers comprises two longitudinal substantially channel shaped bars adjustably telescoped one in the other to fit the shoe, tightening lever means provided with U- shaped stand means connected to the other free end of said bars.

3. A device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright comprising two shoe stretchers for stretching the soles of the shoes from the outside, means for detachably connecting said shoe stretchers, said shoe stretchers being arranged to hold the shoes with mutually facing soles when the connection is assembled, said shoe stretchers being adapted to hold the pair of shoes upright when the shoe stretchers are connected, said means for holding said pair of shoes upright comprising two spaced apart supporting members being mounted on one of said shoe stretchers, the other of said supporting members being secured to the other of said shoe stretchers, said detachable connecting means connecting the shoe stretchers comprising plug-in connecting means including a female member secured to one of said shoe stretchers and a male member secured to the other of said shoe stretchers, and locking means cooperative between and releasably locking said male and female members together.

4. A device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright, comprising two shoe stretchers for stretching the soles of the shoes from the outside, means for detachably connecting said shoe stretchers, said shoe stretchers being arranged to hold the shoes with mutually facing soles when the connec tion is assembled, said shoe stretchers being adapted to hold the pair of shoes upright when the shoe stretchers are connected, said means for holding said pair of shoes upright comprising two spaced apart supporting members, one of said supporting members being mounted on one of said shoe stretchers, the other of said supporting members being secured to the other of said shoe stretchers, said detachable connecting means connecting the shoe stretchers comprising plug-in connecting means including a female member secured to one of said shoe stretchers and a male member secured to the other of said shoe stretchers, and locking means are provided to lock said detachable connecting means, said female and male members of the detachable connecting means extending into a recess of channelshaped longitudinal bars and being held each by a U- shaped member, which engages the shoe and is pivoted to the respective end of the longitudinal bars.

5. A device as set forth in claim 3, characterized in that the locking means comprise a pivoted locking member.

6. A device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright, comprising two shoe stretchers for stretching the soles of the shoes from the outside, means for detachably connecting said shoe stretchers, said shoe stretchers being arranged to hold the shoes with mutually facing soles when the connection is assembled, said shoe stretchers being adapted to hold the pair of shoes upright when the shoe stretchers are connected, each of said stretchers having a tightening lever pivoted thereto, said means for holding said pair of shoes upright comprising two separate stand members each engaging one end of a shoe, one of said stand members being pivoted to the tightening lever on one of said shoe stretchers, and the other of said stand members being secured to the tightening lever on the other of said shoe stretchers. 

1. A device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright, comprising two shoe stretchers for stretching the soles of the shoes from the outside, means for detachably connecting said shoe stretchers, said shoe stretchers being arranged to hold the shoes with mutually facing soles when the connection is assembled, said shoe stretchers being adapted to hold the pair of shoes upright when the shoe stretchers are connected, said means for holding said pair of shoes upright comprising two spaced apart supporting members, one of said supporting members being mounted on one of said shoe stretchers, the other of said supporting members being secured to the other of said shoe stretchers, said two shoe stretchers being provided with U-shaped members which engage one end of the shoe and consist of U-shaped stand members forming the two supporting members, and each of said U-shaped stand members being pivoted to a tightening lever, which is pivoted to a longitudinal bar that engages the sole of the shoe.
 2. A device, for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright, comprising two shoe stretchers for stretching the soles of the shoes from the outside, means for detachably connecting said shoe stretchers, said shoe stretchers being arranged to hold the shoes with mutually facing soles when the connection is assembled, said shoe stretchers being adapted to hold the pair of shoes upright when the shoe stretchers are connected, said means for holding said pair of shoes upright comprising two spaced apart supporting members, one of said supporting members being mounted on one of said shoe stretchers, the other of said supporting members being secured to the other of said shoe stretchers, each of said two shoe stretchers comprises two longitudinal substantially channel shaped bars adjustably telescoped one in the other to fit the shoe, tightening lever means provided with U-shaped stand means connected to the other free end of said bars.
 3. A device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright comprising two shoe stretchers for stretching the soles of the shoes from the outside, means for detachably connecting said shoe stretchers, said shoe stretchers being arranged to hold the shoes with mutually facing soles when the connection is assembled, said shoe stretchers being adapted to hold the pair of shoes upright when the shoe stretchers are connected, said means for holding said pair of shoes upright comprising two spaced apart supporting members being mounted on one of said shoe stretchers, the other of said supporting members being secured to the other of said shoe stretchers, said detachable connecting means connecting the shoe stretchers comprising plug-in connecting means including a female member secured to one of said shoe stretchers and a male member secured to the other of said shoe stretchers, and locking means cooperative between and releasably locking said male and female members together.
 4. A device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright, comprising two shoe stretchers for stretching the soles of the shoes from the outside, means for detachably connecting said shoe stretchers, said shoe stretchers being arranged to hold the shoes with mutually facing soles when the connection is assembled, said shoe stretchers being adapted to hold the pair of shoes upright when the shoe stretchers are connected, said means for holding said pair of shoes upright comprising two spaced apart supporting members, one of said supporting members being mounted on one of said shoe stretchers, the other of said supporting members being secured to the other of said shoe stretchers, said detachable connecting means connectinG the shoe stretchers comprising plug-in connecting means including a female member secured to one of said shoe stretchers and a male member secured to the other of said shoe stretchers, and locking means are provided to lock said detachable connecting means, said female and male members of the detachable connecting means extending into a recess of channel-shaped longitudinal bars and being held each by a U-shaped member, which engages the shoe and is pivoted to the respective end of the longitudinal bars.
 5. A device as set forth in claim 3, characterized in that the locking means comprise a pivoted locking member.
 6. A device for stretching and carrying a pair of shoes and for holding them upright, comprising two shoe stretchers for stretching the soles of the shoes from the outside, means for detachably connecting said shoe stretchers, said shoe stretchers being arranged to hold the shoes with mutually facing soles when the connection is assembled, said shoe stretchers being adapted to hold the pair of shoes upright when the shoe stretchers are connected, each of said stretchers having a tightening lever pivoted thereto, said means for holding said pair of shoes upright comprising two separate stand members each engaging one end of a shoe, one of said stand members being pivoted to the tightening lever on one of said shoe stretchers, and the other of said stand members being secured to the tightening lever on the other of said shoe stretchers. 